Chapter 542 The Moments Before
[Moments Earlier]
Alicia slowly opened her eyes.
Everything was so loud, and the world seemed to be collapsing on itself. As everything trembled and rumbled, she was slowly pulled out of deep slumber.
Casting her blurry gaze to the darkened sky above, she was met with a bombardment of voices from all her classmates and teachers.
"Alicia!"
"You're up, Alicia!"
"Are you fine, Alicia?"
"Take it easy! How do you feel?" She remained still despite being overwhelmed by all of these questions. The faces of her classmates began poking into her field of vision, blocking her view of the evening sky.
'I'm still not dead, huh…?' Her thoughts trailed as she tiredly blinked, fighting back the urge to cry once again.
"I know you're just waking up, but I need to ask you something…" Adonis' voice echoed in the air as he drew closer.
"Hmm…?" Tilting her head slightly, ignoring all the chaos and devastation that lay in the background, she looked at the Hero's troubled face.
"Did you know… about Rey? About his power and—?"
"R-Rey…?"
Painful memories began to surface, and she began to feel the urge to close her eyes once again—perhaps forget all about what she knew.
… What had just happened.
"R-Rey is—"
~BOOOOOOOOOOOM!~
A sudden explosion caused everything to tremble, and the grounds ominously shook, causing everyone who was standing to fall straight to the roughened ground.
"Again?" Someone in the crowd muttered.
"That one seemed a bit closer than last time, don't you think?"
"I'm scared… I'm so scared…" As everyone among the audience gave mixed responses, Adonis sighed and looked at the two strongest denizens of the Alliance.
Brutus and Lucielle returned hs gaze, and their expressions oozed concern as well.
"Are you sure we shouldn't retreat to the bunker?"
"It'll be much safer there than to stay out in the open like this. I'm sure the Councilors are already there…"
Adonis sighed and shook his head.
"That thing is after Alicia. Going to the bunker would only lead it to that place. That would endanger even more lives, and fighting in an enclosed space would offer us a disadvantage…" "F-fight?" Lucielle raised her brows as she trembled a little. "You're thinking about fighting that thing?!"
"If Rey doesn't succeed, then we have to—"
"Adonis, that thing is too strong for us to handle. You can hear the sounds. I'm sure half of the city has already been destroyed at this point."
Adonis shook his head as his resolute face clung to his convictions.
"We can go with the same plan as before. Using The Unknown Box to awaken all our powers and win. We have more numbers now, so we should be able to do it." Not counting Alicia, there were currently five Otherworlders on standby. Adding Lucielle and Brutus, that meant there would be a total seven who would go against the Divine Beast.
Surely, their chances were great.
"I agree with Lucielle on this. I don't think we can win, even with that pla—"
"So what do you want us to do?! Abandon our comrade? I can't accept that! She's one of the heroes who will save the world! I… I can't… like last time… I… this world…" For the first time ever, Adonis was seen stuttering.
His charisma seemed to evaporate into thin air as an obsessive air surrounded him. With widened eyes, he seemed to plead his case.
Many who saw this were shook to their core.
The response he gave caused the faces of the group to grow downcast. Some might have thought to abandon Alicia and simply save their own skins in the bunker, but no one was bold enough to make the suggestion.
Still, it seemed to be a much more feasible plan than fighting the monstrosity that was Dagon.
"That thing killed the Dragon Lord very easily. It eliminated two other Dragons with just about the same level of ease—the same ones you were struggling with not too long ago." Lucielle said with a stern sigh.
"B-back then we didn't have—!"
"Rey or Ralyks, however you put it, has displayed a lot of Skills and abilities from what I am told. If none of those have been effective on this creature, I don't see what we can do—even if we end up unlocking the full potential of our Skills."
"Lucielle, listen… I—!"
"That's not even discounting the curse that you mentioned earlier. The duration of this upgrade is also something that bothers me. All in all, Adonis… I do not think this is a good plan." Lucielle moved closer to the trembling Hero and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"I know you want to save everyone. I admire that about you… but that won't be possible this time." As she uttered those words with a sad smile, her crimson eyes glistened with sincerity. She spoke from her heart, and those words seemed to break down the walls that Adonis raised.
"I… but there's no other…"
"Don't be so quick to judge. There could be a solution." She winked at him, removing her hand from his shoulder as she went back to Brutus' side.
"What do you—?"
"Give us the box. Everyone else should go to the bunker for safety. I'll use a Spell to transport Alicia somewhere faraway… out of the reach of the thing."
Out of everyone present, only Lucielle could use Spatial Magic. The scale at which she could use it, however, was limited. If she had [The Unknown Box], she could achieve a long-distance Teleportation Spell—one that was untraceable too.
"It might take some time, but Brutus can protect me in that case. Even if it's for a few seconds. The sooner we start, the safer it'll be for all of us."
With that plan, only the Head Warrior and Grand Mage would be in danger. Plus, if they hurried, then they could also go to the bunker.
"It's a good plan, isn't it?" Lucielle smiled brightly. Of course, she would have to bear the brunt of the curse—whatever the effect would be—but at the very least, the casualties would be minimized. Only the Grand Mage would have to suffer.